“It’s bleak.”
That’s the unanimous verdict from fans of Netflix’s Black Mirror after watching the Season 7 premiere: bleak, grim, and, oh, don’t forget, downright depressing.
The episode, titled “Common People,” looks at the world of subscription-based services. If juggling multiple streaming subscriptions feels frustrating now, imagine a day when your payment directly determines whether your wife lives or dies.
That’s the twisted reality faced by Mike (Chris O’Dowd) and Amanda (Rashida Jones), a working-class couple thrown into crisis after Amanda collapses at work and is diagnosed with a brain tumor. After running out of traditional treatment options, Mike seeks out a more experimental one, enrolling Amanda in Rivermind, a futuristic tech company that offers a life-extending treatment, but for a monthly fee.
At first, it works. Amanda recovers. The subscription cost is steep and the couple can barely afford it, but for Mike, it’s worth the price if it means saving Amanda. However, things begin to take a dark turn when Amanda begins to randomly speak in ads, which the company says they can fix, but only if the couple pays to upgrade their service, something that they can’t afford to do.
After viewers watched the episode, their reaction has been nothing short of horrified.
“That was depressing. Never need to watch that again,” one Redditor declared.
Another user agreed, adding: “Bro, when she starts dropping the ads, I’ve not felt that enraged for a fictional character in years. F---ing despicable.”
The episode is so depressing that some fans are jokingly posting about wanting to die after watching it.
And of course, the irony of an episode about the dystopian nature of subscription services airing on Netflix, a streaming platform with subscription-based plans, was not lost on viewers.
The horror that “Common People” exposes about how greedy companies exploit their customers has struck such a nerve with viewers that some are even rethinking their stance on Luigi Mangione, the man who allegedly assassinated the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
“I suddenly get Luigi now,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“So yeah, free luigi ✌🏻" another person chimed in.
If you decide to give this season of Black Mirror a watch, maybe do yourself a favor and save “Common People” for last—unless you’re eager to be traumatized.
